


Prologue:  All I Do is Dream of You

by rixie_rhee



Series: In the Mood [1]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:22:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rixie_rhee/pseuds/rixie_rhee
Summary: And then one Saturday, Nix asked Dick if he wanted to go to the movies, maybe get an ice cream cone. It was getting close to time by then. He added, off-handedly, that Rissa would be there, too. They’d meet Dick at the theater, he was just going to get her.It was very much like the first time. Only this time, Nix didn’t let go of Rissa’s hand. Her smile was almost shy again until it wasn’t, and she and Nix grinned at him. Rissa still sat between them, but this time his arm was around her and his hand was on her ribs. Nix kissed the top of her head, she whispered in his ear. When the movie ended and the credits were rolling, Dick turned to say something, and Nix and Rissa were curled into one another, kissing the way you would in a bedroom. Neither had the grace to look embarrassed at all when Dick cleared his throat. Nix just kept kissing her and held up one finger in that universal ‘wait-a-minute’ gesture. Rissa saw and laughed into his mouth.





	Prologue:  All I Do is Dream of You

Rissy met Dick in October, about six or so weeks after she and Nix met. It was a day an American would describe as Indian summer, a crisp golden jewel of a day, completely out of season just before Hallowe’en. A few days beforehand, Nix and Rissy had met by chance in front of the café where they’d first met, and since they were both headed in the same direction, they walked together companionably. When the marquee in front of the movie theater caught her eye, Rissa mentioned that the film was one she wanted to see, and Nix said he wouldn’t mind seeing it, either. He said it off-handedly, but he’d be lying if he said his heart didn’t speed up a little. She smiled up at him and he smiled down at her, and the glance held just a bit too long. They made plans for the following Saturday afternoon. And, well, it turned out that Dick wanted to see the same damn movie. Nix decided that he wanted to go with both of them, wanted to see if they liked each other.

That’s how it happened that they met in front of the small theater. Nix walked there with Rissa. Their fingers briefly entwined, just for a few seconds before Nix made introductions. He realized that she was nervous to meet Dick, and that made him want to put an arm around her and hold her close to his chest, but that was something they just didn’t do, not unless it was one of those times they didn’t talk about. That only happened in private, not out on the street and not in front of anyone else.

Nix introduced Rissa to Dick and Dick to Rissa, and the two shook hands and exchanged nice-to-meet-you’s before they filed inside. Nix said Rissa was his friend, but he paid for her movie ticket and for the popcorn for everyone to share. Once they sat down, he pulled out a glass bottle of American Coca-Cola from one of his inside pockets, she clapped her hands, clearly delighted with the small gift. Dick looked sideways at Nix who didn’t see because he was watching Rissa with a small, tender smile on his lips.

She was cute and she seemed perfectly nice, but skittish and quiet. With Dick, not with Nix. There already seemed to be a kind of shorthand between them. She was not the kind of girl that Nix usually…dated, but this was not a date, this was an afternoon movie with friends. She sat between them in the dark theater. They all three shared the popcorn that she held in her lap, and Rissa drank her Coke. Out of the corner of his eye, Dick saw a flash of something silver, and he knew it was Nix’s flask, but it was the girl taking a tiny sip, having plucked it from Nix’s hand. Nix grinned at him from over her head.

When the movie was over and the lights came back on it was just starting to get dark outside. She thanked Nix for the movie and the soda, told Dick again that it was nice to have met him; but now she had to go meet her friend Lise. Then she said something about ice cream; she always used to go out for ice cream after the movies and she missed that little treat, a small luxury that reminded her of home.

Nix shook his head, and watched his two friends bond, lamenting over the lack of ice cream. Rissa said they used to make it on her back porch during the summer, Dick said his family did, too. She liked vanilla, he liked peach; Nix liked the way they both seemed happy to have found a person who _understood_. Eventually, Rissy took Nix’s wrist, turning it to look at his watch, and then she said she really did have to go. She said good-bye again, only this time she touched Dick’s arm, her smile was still a little shy but warm, and she stood on tip-toe to kiss Nix’s cheek, a gesture which he returned. It was quick and casual affection, loving in a friendly way.

She was going to supper; was already late, in fact. Lise, the friend she was supposed to meet, was bringing a young man and wanted Rissa’s opinion of him. Nix watched her walk up the street, what he didn’t see was that she turned to look at him, too. By that time, Nix had already moved to face Dick.

“Do you want to go for a drink?”

This was met with a dry expression and a blink. “She’s nice, Nix.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“What’re you--?”

“She’s a friend. Her husband died.”

“Oh.”

“What if I have a drink and I buy you a glass of milk or something?”.

* * *

Over the rest of the fall and into the winter, they saw more of each other. Not just Nix and Rissa, but Dick, too. Dinner sometimes, or another movie, or a meeting in passing. In time, her shyness passed. She was still quiet, but it was companionable, and besides, not every silence needs to be filled, especially when life has become so noisy in general. Dick noticed the tiny gestures that added up to something more than the sum of their parts. Nix would bring Rissa small gifts. Tokens, things that a girl could use that might be hard to come by, or a book or a chocolate, and on one occasion, a tiny china cow that he found somewhere or other. Whatever it was, she was always happy and thankful, and if Nix was empty-handed, she was frankly delighted just to see him.

When Nix talked, Rissa would listen with her chin propped on one hand. If he’d make one of his self-deprecating comments, her head would shake slightly in disagreement. She never asked him for anything but his company. And there was a tenderness there; one might think it was because she was a nurse, and although she was kind, it was clear that Nix was special to her. One night, Nix had a bit much at dinner and she had a glass of wine or two herself. They were walking down the mostly empty street. It was late, and they were seeing her home, and there was music spilling out onto the street from someone’s upstairs room.

Nix started to dance with her, right on the sidewalk. She let him twirl her around, her dress caught on one of his buttons and for a bare moment the top of her stocking and her garter was exposed. Nix touched her thigh, but only to pull her dress back down. Her laugh was throaty and she twirled in Nix’s arms again, only this time her dress stayed put and Nix’s hands stayed on her waist.

On New Year’s Eve, there was a kind of party, dancing and supper and cocktails. Nix had a date. Actually, Rissa did, too. He was a friend of Lise’s young man, who was called James (and of whom Rissa did whole-heartedly approve). Lise was lively, funny, warm, a little crazy and very French, James was good-natured, kind, and happy to play the straight man to his girl. His friend was not so charming. He was handsome and would have been perfectly nice, if he hadn’t tried so hard. Likewise, the girl who was there to dance with Nix was beautiful. She kept looking at Rissa and Lise from the corner of her eye and shaking her head ever-so-slightly. Nix saw and rolled his eyes. The blonde didn’t see his reaction, but Rissa and Lise did. They giggled together and Rissa grinned widely at Nix.

\--Nix wanted to say, ‘You’re very pretty and you dance beautifully--but she had someone nearly bleed out on her yesterday. And the day before that, she was pulling bone fragments out of some guy’s hair, and the day before that, a kid younger than she is died while she was holding his hand. For fuck’s sake, let her play. You were sitting in school when she was doing her damndest to keep those guys alive.’ He didn’t say any of that, though; instead he gave the pretty blonde girl a tight smile, and made a face at Rissa when she turned her back.

 That night, Rissa stole sips from Lew’s flask, and they bent their heads together, making fun of their respective dates, but not in a cruel way. They danced, sometimes with each other but more often not. At midnight, everyone stood together in a group, Dick and Nix, Rissa, Lise and her James, the pretty nurse who was there to make it a round number, and the young man and woman who were supposed to be there with Rissa and Nix. At midnight, James kissed Lise, and Dick put a quick kiss to the nurse’s lips, and Nix bent to his left instead of his right and almost kissed Rissa instead of the pretty blonde.

Rissa did kiss Nix, just to the side of his mouth, and they both laughed when the pair of forgotten dates stalked off and made a show of kissing each other. Nix’s arm stayed around Rissa’s shoulders and she leaned into him comfortably. He took her home because her escort left with the girl that Nix was supposed to see to her door. In truth, they were glad to be rid of them. Nix nicked a bottle of champagne, and he and Rissa went tipsily and merrily on their way to hers. Nix showed up back to his bed about forty minutes later, sans bottle but with a red lipstick kisses on the side of his mouth and on his cheek. He mumbled that Rissa said good-night, and fell dead asleep without taking off his clothes or even his shoes.

There were the glances that lingered when the other wasn’t looking. The indulgent tone that would creep into Rissa’s voice. How upset Nix would get if any other man got too familiar in his teasing or aggressive in his flirting, or how protective he was of Rissa, even though he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. He’d seen deflect advances kindly, the withering glances she’d give anyone who persisted; he’d even seen her yell at a  hesitant physician.

He’d told Dick later that it was strange to see the girl he danced and flirted with, the girl he treated like a lady, with blood on her hands. He was impressed with her efficiency, how deft and decisive she was. And for all her cool appraisal, she was still reassuring, compassionate. He supposed he’d always envisioned her sitting at a bedside, holding the hand of a faceless man. She did plenty of that, but that wasn’t all she did, not by a long shot.

Rissa couldn’t know much about Nix’s work, such was the nature of things, but she knew he was very good at it. Although she wasn’t quite sure exactly what he did do, that it wasn’t all lectures and maps and briefings. She was aware of the responsibility that fell on his shoulders, and how keenly aware of it he was--after all these men were his friends. How do you do that, she would wonder; how do you craft the plans to send your friends, your family, into battle?

Nix would check on Rissy; she would check on him, just making sure, because that’s what you do for the someone you care about. Once Rissa helped Dick maneuver Nix back to his room after a night out, drinks and dancing that ended up mostly drinks once Lise and her James took their leave. They got him to bed and she left, only to come back with aspirin tablets a few minutes later. They undressed him, and that tenderness was there again in her face and hands. She had to have been tired, it was late and she had to be up early the next day. Later that morning, in fact.

“You don’t have to do this. I’m here.”

She looked at Dick and blinked before a tiny half-smile appeared. She shrugged. “Lew’s my friend. It’s what you do.” She pushed Nix’s hair back and went to get a washcloth. Nix’s dark eyes were swimming and he reached for her wrist, stopping her from leaving his bedside.

“Are you stayin’ w’me?”

She didn’t answer him, only stroked the side of his face. “It’s okay, Lew. Go to sleep,” she murmured. She did kiss him then, at his temple and at the corner of his mouth, though her eyes lingered on his lips. She stayed until Nix was deeply asleep and snoring.

In the meantime, she played checkers with Dick, telling him that she used to play with her father. She substituted American dimes for her missing pieces, Dick used ha’pennies. She smiled when she pulled the dimes from her bag, only explaining that she’d always liked them best for no reason in particular. They sat at the table and talked. He wrestled in college, she swam in high school. She liked books, classic novels and poetry and pulp fiction that was a guilty pleasure. He liked ice cream. A lot, and that was his guilty pleasure. Again, it was companionable.

Then Nix woke up and slurred that he didn’t feel good. Rissa perched on the edge of his bed. She moved the blanket, pulled his undershirt up, and rubbed his belly in slow circles. When Nix heaved, she grabbed the trash bin and held it under his chin. Once he was done retching, she wiped his mouth and gave him sips of water. She fell asleep leaning against Nix’s pillows with his head in her lap.

A friend. Right.

Dick woke her up sometime before four, and he walked her to what passed for her home. He didn’t want her to walk alone in the dark. They were both stiff from falling asleep in awkward positions while Nix was sprawled on his bed.

* * *

Then came spring and the weekend that Nix wouldn’t tell anyone where he had been. Four or five weeks later, there was a night that Nix went out, came back, took a shower and left again. He didn’t return until morning. He was wrinkled and sober and happy. He went around whistling and pointedly ignored every single question about where he was and what he did.

And then one Saturday, Nix asked Dick if he wanted to go to the movies, maybe get an ice cream cone. It was getting close to time by then. He added, off-handedly, that Rissa would be there, too. They’d meet Dick at the theater, he was just going to get her.

It was very much like the first time. Only this time, Nix didn’t let go of Rissa’s hand. Her smile was almost shy again until it wasn’t, and she and Nix grinned at him. Rissa still sat between them, but this time his arm was around her and his hand was on her ribs, just under her breast. Nix kissed the top of her head, she whispered in his ear. When the movie ended and the credits were rolling, Dick turned to say something, and Nix and Rissa were curled into one another, kissing the way you would in a bedroom. Neither had the grace to look embarrassed at all when Dick cleared his throat. Nix just kept kissing her and held up one finger in that universal ‘wait-a-minute’ gesture. Rissa saw and laughed into his mouth.

Then there was a night that they had a big supper all together. That happens before sometimes. A get-together while you still can, a kind of last hurrah that no one acknowledges could be a last hurrah. That was when Nix kissed her in front of God and everyone and after all that they were very obviously very much together.

Then D-Day and everything that followed. They managed to see one another, finding stolen hours and sometimes even a day or an entire week-end. Nix got notes and postcards when that wasn’t possible. There were a few he kept folded in one of his inside pockets along with a few snapshots. They became worn, dog-eared and soft around the edges from being handled so often.

There was the morning he’d gone to find Nix, thinking he was in bed alone. He’d pulled back the curtain and found Nix very much not alone and naked, tangled up with an equally naked Rissa. She’d twisted her face towards the wall and covered her rather…substantial…chest with her hands and Nix used his own hands to rather ineffectually cover other pieces of their anatomies. He’d felt rooted to the spot. It was only three or five seconds but it felt like much longer, and then Nix growled, “Get out!”

He’d hummed loudly to himself, trying to drown out the noise because the two in the bed had given up any pretense of being quiet. Paybacks are a bitch. Maybe this is what happens if you douse a man in his own urine.

The second time was in the middle of the afternoon. He knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. He pulled the door closed more abruptly than he had opened it after he got an eyeful. At least this time, they were just lying there, done with whatever they’d been doing. The howls of laughter were audible in the hall even with the door shut tight.

Christmas and New Year’s. No kisses that year, nothing but the one fleeting visit she somehow managed, when she had literally crates of things that were either legitimately donated or ‘re-routed.’ For all the sweet dreaminess, she could be resourceful and the tiniest bit devious, too. She didn’t apologize for that, either. She sat in Nix’s lap under a pile of blankets and turned her doe eyes on him. They were dark and pleading in a face that was pale and waxy. He left them to their business, half-afraid that if he didn’t leave it might happen anyway. Although Rissa wasn’t that shameless and Nix really wasn’t either, there was a sort of innocent and loving debauchery between them.

That night, alone and in the dark with Nix, he’d ask what he was going to do. No judgement, just a question. He was surprised, but only just a little. Nix was really upset. It was obvious that there was real love and affection; he’d seen that way back in Aldbourne, there had been times he wanted to tell them both to just get to it already.

And after all that business was done, and they were back in relative safety, it was still winter. There was nowhere for privacy, and no time besides, but Nix took Rissy on a walk. He came back happy again, saying nothing more than “Rissy says hello.” He chuckled to himself and Dick shook his head. Hello, indeed.

Nix visited her in Paris in February, and he was drunk afterwards. He missed her. She wrote as much as she could and sent him pictures. He would call her when he could, but she started to sound distant, even her letters seemed preoccupied. Then Nix got a letter from his wife. That night was bad, the worst in a long while, because he was still hurt even though he didn’t want to be married to her. It’s still a blow that someone no longer wants you, a loss, not to mention the loss of the house and the dog and the child who he’d never gotten a chance to know. Nix with a bruised ego was surly and irritable, and drank more than he had before. Then came the day that someone or other came up to him and told him that Rissa was waiting downstairs. Nix went down the steps two at a time and Dick followed him at a more dignified pace.

She greeted both of them warmly, there were kisses and hello’s, but she wouldn’t let Nix hug her, keeping him awkwardly at arm’s length when he tried. When she said she needed to talk to him alone, Dick was almost sure he’d be scraping Nix up off the floor later. He would have been lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed in Rissa. It was easy to like Nix, hell, probably easy for a woman to fall in love with him, but he could be difficult to manage. Even so, Dick didn’t think that Rissa’d leave him right after Kathy did. Honestly, he didn’t think she would have ever left him at all.

It turned out that wasn’t the case, that it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Instead there was a baby in the fall, and a tiny rented cottage where there was a Christmas dinner and Nix kissed Rissy on New Year’s Eve. Everyone went home. There was a wedding in the spring where Nix kissed her for an embarrassingly long time.

What followed was just life. Another baby. A worried late-night call from Rissa needing help dealing with Nix’s demons. For a while those happened more often than anyone would like. A sad and awful late-night call from Nix when he sobbed into the ‘phone. A visit and a story that made Rissa spew lemonade into Nix’s lap like a fountain. Another baby, the last one. Birthday parties, first days of school, graduations, anniversaries, weddings…

And even after all of that, she still listened to him with her chin in her hand and stars in her eyes and he still brought her little trinkets.

 


End file.
